When searching for an establishment in Japan, copy and paste the words “パチスロ” into the search box, then enter the name of the place where you are located after putting a space.
Hello, this is Kei!
I am going to explain about 「PACHI-SLOT」 in Japan today.
▼ What is 「PACHI-SLOT」?
Have you guys ever heard of 「PACHI-SLOT」? If you know about 「PACHINKO」, you probably know about 「PACHI-SLOT」 as well. Because 「PACHI-SLOT」 and 「PACHINKO」 are like siblings. There are some parlors that specialize in 「PACHI-SLOT」 and 「PACHINKO」, but most of them are attached to each other within the same parlor.
「PACHI-SLOT」 is a slot machine, which is a simple introduction. To put it simply, it is a game where you operate a lever and press a button to get a specific pattern. Slot machines can be found in casinos in the US, but the specifications are slightly different from those of Japanese 「PACHI-SLOT」.
The slot machines in casinos are the same in that you turn on the lever and the machine starts spinning, but the reels stop automatically. On the other hand, in the Japanese 「PACHI-SLOT」 machines I’m introducing, you turn on the lever to spin the machine, and then press a button to stop the reels.
So, in order to win, players are required to have a little technique. 「PACHINKO」 and 「PACHI-SLOT」, which I mentioned earlier as being like siblings, have been studied by a research company and the number of people playing each in 2021 is as follows:
- 「PACHINKO」: approx. 7.32 million (down approx. 1.62 million from the previous year)
- 「PACHI-SLOT」: approx. 5.73 million (down approx. 1.45 million from the previous year)
「PACHINKO」 has more than a million more competitive players. The difference in the number of competitors is related to the mentioned techniques, and the fact that players have more control over the payout in 「PACHI-SLOT」 than in 「PACHINKO」.
In other words, unlike 「PACHINKO」, which has a strong element of luck, it is easy to differentiate between winning and losing, and between income and expenditure, depending on skills and techniques. This makes it easy for beginners who enter 「PACHINKO」 parlors (which also have 「PACHI-SLOT」 machines) to start with 「PACHINKO」 first.
However, on the other hand, if you improve your technique, you can beat other people and win, so I think it is a worthwhile game. I have a friend who consistently earns about 100,000 yen a month.
▼ How to play 「PACHI-SLOT」
【1】Borrow medals
「PACHINKO」 is played by borrowing balls, while 「PACHI-SLOT」 is played by borrowing medals. If you can increase the number of medals, you win; if you can’t, you lose. If you win, you can get prizes (sweets, cigarettes, toys, daily necessities, etc.) or special prizes (plates that can be converted into money later).
First, choose the machine you want to play at and put your bills in the entrance of the machine on the right side of the front door, which is commonly called “coin sand”. You can play with a minimum of 1,000 yen in bills, but to be honest, 1,000 yen often ends up being too soon, so it’s best to have between 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen in your pocket. I would go with at least 10,000 yen. The mainstream medal rate is 20 yen per medal (there are also rates of 5 yen and 10 yen).
If you put more than 1,000 yen into the “coin sand” machine on the right side of the machine, the money will be transferred to the IC card installed in the 「PACHI-SLOT」 machine, so don’t forget to pay the bill in the parlor when you quit.
In some parlors, medals are released as soon as you insert money into the coin sand, while in others they are released when you press the lend button. In both cases, medals are lent out in units of 1,000 yen, so when you run out of 1,000 yen, just press the lend button again and keep playing!
【2】Insert medals
Insert the borrowed medal into the slot of the machine, which requires at least three medals to match the patterns on the three reels. The slot can hold 50 medals at a time.
If you don’t want to do it one at a time, you can do it all at once. Even if you put in a lot of money, you can rest assured that the number of cards remaining will be displayed in the credits of the machine.
【3】Pull a lever
After putting in the necessary amount of coins, pull the lever. Sometimes people get desperate and pull too hard, but don’t do that. When you pull the lever, the reels will start spinning.
【4】Stop reels
Once the reels are spinning, press the stop button to stop the reels. There are three stop buttons, one for the left, one for the middle, and one for the right, each corresponding to a different position on the reels. In most cases, it doesn’t matter which button you press first, but in some cases, pressing the right or middle button will result in a penalty or loss of money, so it’s safer to press the left button first.
【5】When the pattern is aligned
Depending on the pattern you get, you can get different results, for example, if you get a bell pattern, you can get 10 medals, or if you get a replay pattern, you can get another spin without betting a medal.
One thing you need to remember is called a bonus. A bonus in 「PACHI-SLOT」 is a role that pays out a medal by matching its pattern to enter a bonus game. When you play 「PACHI-SLOT」, you will get a bonus flag (the frequency of this flag depends on the probability).
Then you’ll get “Reach” sign. “Reach” is when two of the three reels are aligned and the machine says, “you need to align one more row”. The game will tell you if you have Reach by showing you a light or the LCD, so you just have to press the button when you have the right pattern.
This action is called “eye-push” or “eye-pushing”. Pushing the reels is not just stopping the reels randomly, but intentionally stopping the reels according to the pattern you want. If you know the order of the patterns on the spinning reels (for example, cherry, watermelon, replay, and bell), it will be easier to consciously stop it, right?
This is what I meant when I said at the beginning that 「PACHI-SLOT」 requires technique. If you don’t press the button, you won’t get the bonus. If you can press the button properly and match the bonus pattern, you will get the bonus.
There are several types of bonuses, but basically you can imagine that they make it easier to get a role or keep getting a role! The maximum number of medals you can get depends on the machine, but you can get up to 336 or 448 medals, which is an unbelievable number. When the bonus ends, the machine returns to normal and the game continues.
【6】Exchange prixes
If you’ve had enough for the day, call the clerk to have your medal counted. When the medal counting machine is finished, you will be given a receipt to take to the counter in the parlor.
Whether to exchange them for prizes (sweets, cigarettes, toys, daily necessities, etc.) or for special prizes (plates that can be converted into money later) is up to you. Once you have exchanged them for special prizes, you will need to have them converted into cash at a prize exchange near the parlor.
▼ Attraction of 「PACHI-SLOT」
【1】Easy to play and enjoy
I think the most that it is easy to play and anyone can easily enjoy it. You don’t have to think about anything difficult, and since there are parlors all over the country, you can just drop by and make some quick money.
It’s also good to know that you won’t lose too much. After all, there is a great sense of relief in knowing that the amount of money per medal is clearly fixed. Even if I play all the way from opening to closing, you win and lose… even if you lose a lot, I probably won’t lose more than 100,000 yen.
【2】Performance is interesting
Just like 「PACHINKO」, there are 「PACHI-SLOT」 machines that have tie-ups with popular talents. Some people get hooked on 「PACHI-SLOT」 because their favorite talent is tied up with 「PACHI-SLOT」 machine, so I think it’s a good way to get started.
Whenever you get “Reach” or enter the bonus time, the LCD panel will show you a unique performance based on the characteristics of the tie-up talent, which is very interesting.
【3】Make money
There are a lot of people around me who believe that they can make money playing 「PACHI-SLOT」. It seems that they all have their own winning methods and study the probability and choice of machines.
There are certain machines that are in a good position to win, and there are certain machines that should be played. There’s a big difference between knowing this and not knowing it, and that’s why there’s a long line of people waiting in line before the parlor even opens to get a good machine.
The more times you play, the more familiar you’ll become with 「PACHI-SLOT」, and the more you can learn to win, both in your head and in your body, so I’ d like to keep doing it.
▼ How to win 「PACHI-SLOT」
【1】Select a machine that is in a good position to win, Part 1
“Is there such a thing as a dream machine?” Well…there is. I want you to check the number of games displayed on the 「PACHI-SLOT」 machine. If you don’t know, ask the clerk!
I want you to try hitting a machine with that large number of games. Slots have a relief feature called a “ceiling,” a system that forces you to win after a certain number of games!
People who only play on machines with a large number of games are called “ceiling shooters”. However, the number of games that enter the ceiling varies from machine to machine, and some machines do not have a ceiling system, so be careful!
【2】Select a machine that is in a good position to win, Part 2
This is also about choosing a machine, but in 「PACHI-SLOT」, the “setting” is very important. The settings range from 1 to 6, and each setting determines the probability of winning a bonus. The higher the setting number, the easier it is to win.
The way to find out what the settings are varies from person to person, but what I think is most reliable is the payout information provided by the parlor. Nowadays, many parlors release information on which machines have paid out on which days and by how much, and then if you analyze this payout information…
On certain days (such as when an event is held at a parlor), it becomes clear that a particular machine is producing abnormal numbers. This means that when the situation is the same, that particular machine is a good target. There are also strong players who just try to play the machine and see what the probability is, and there are also people who watch other people playing the machine to see if it has a high setting.
【3】Probability
I’ve talked about this a bit, but after all, 「PACHI-SLOT」 are all about probability. Just because a machine has a high probability of winning doesn’t mean that you will always win, but the expected value is quite high.
▼ NG behavior at 「PACHI-SLOT」
【1】Do not punch a machine
It’s obvious… but there are people who do this. I’m sure everyone is fine, but you mustn’t hit the machine just because you’ve lost too much money. The people at the parlor are in big trouble.
【2】Obsessive behavior
Don’t wait behind someone who is playing 「PACHI-SLOT」.
“That’s a great machine!”
“I want to play next time!”
When you are playing 「PACHI-SLOT」, there are always times when you feel that way. This is even more true when you see someone playing and they don’t have much money left.
However, people who are playing are aware that they are being watched, and the feeling is never good.
【3】Play more than 2 mochines
While playing, “Oh! I think I’d rather play on that one,” or “But I’m getting a hit right now, so I’ll just keep it for now”. This is not a good idea.
One 「PACHI-SLOT」 machine per person! Don’t hold on to a machine for a friend who is coming later. In some cases, you might get kicked out, so don’t do it!
【4】Do not leave the machine for long periods of time without permission
Don’t leave the machine for long periods of time without permission, because it’s annoying to other people and to the parlor. It’s hard to tell if you’re playing or not.
However, there are times when you may want to eat or take a break. In that case, call the clerk and ask for a “break ticket”. You can leave it on the machine and not bother anyone.
【5】Do not play with other people’s medals
This is also obvious, but since medals can be converted into money, playing with other people’s medals is like using other people’s money.
Even if you find a medal left on an empty machine, don’t touch it.
Follow the rules and have fun!
▼ People who is suited for 「PACHI-SLOT」
- Strong in probability
- Like to collect data
- Don’t get too excited
- Like to gamble in 「PACHI-SLOT」
- Looking for an easy hobby
- Want to make money playing 「PACHI-SLOT」 and be popular
▼ People who is NOT suited for 「PACHI-SLOT」
Not good with numbers
Can’t stop oneself from getting excited.
Can’t afford to play 「PACHI-SLOT」
Don’t find 「PACHI-SLOT」 attractive
Get into debt and still play 「PACHI-SLOT」
▼ Summary
Well, what did you guys think? Did it get you interested in 「PACHI-SLOT」? It’s easy for anyone to enjoy, but it’s actually quite deep. I hope you’ll give this fascinating game a try.
If you find a winning strategy, let me know! Let’s go out for a night on the town with a string of bonuses!
See you guys later, that was Kei!